Soil under suspended floor, musky smell

[ukmercenary]

I live in a 1950's ex council house and the lounge floor has wooden floorboards, which we put laminate over the top.
There are three airbricks and they are all clear as I jet washed them recently.

However even with the window open I always get an earthy kind of musky smell. Apart from getting some kind of air purifier?
I don't see any mould in the room.

Or do I just have to buy a Glade plugin?

 

[foxhole]

If you soak the underfloor thru the aid bricks you will get a damp musky smell.

 

[ukmercenary]

If you soak the underfloor thru the aid bricks you will get a damp musky smell.

ok true but it's been like this since I moved in in 2014

 

[^woody^]

Have you checked the floor void?

Musky smells are mould spores, or rotting vegetation.

 

[Koolpc]

Ventilation needs to be better. Through ventilation at that. You need good airflow under a suspended floor

 

[JohnD]

There may be a source of damp such as a dripping radiator, a leaking pipe or dishwasher, or sink waste. Laminate hides the evidence.

Very often the gully for a gutter downpipe or kitchen waste is cracked and leaking in the ground beside the house wall.

Try to feel where the dampness is worst.

Have you got a water meter?

 

[ree]

OP,
As post #5 - the "airflow" should pass through the crawl space from front to rear. Do you have air bricks at the rear elevation?
There might be a crawl space access hatch under the stairs - or you can cut one in that position?
Then you could possibly go under the suspended floor & examine the joist seats for rot, and the oversite soil, if it is soil, for damp?
Do you have a chimney breast in the lounge - is the fireplace open or blocked off?
Carefully examine the lounge skirtings - are there any signs of softness?

 

[ukmercenary]

The problem is that when we moved in they had already concreated over the kitchen floor. The lounge which has the smell is at the back of the kitchen. I think this is half the issue then, ie that air is passing under the front of the house under the lounge but then hitting the concreate floor at the start of the kitchen. We removed the chimney when we moved in. The laminate flooring is going right up agsint the stairs. I will try to get one of the endoscope cameras to have a look. I don't see any signs of softness on the skirting boards but will take another look.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Concreted "over" or filled in?

It might be best just to get the floor up and fill it with concrete. If it smells damp then the joists are probably mush anyway.

Put a humidity meter in and shut it up overnight. If it's over 60% then do something about it.

Some mould spores can cause illnesses.

 

[ukmercenary]

Concreted "over" or filled in?

It might be best just to get the floor up and fill it with concrete. If it smells damp then the joists are probably mush anyway.

Put a humidity meter in and shut it up overnight. If it's over 60% then do something about it.

Some mould spores can cause illnesses.

I don't know if it was concreated over or just filled in as it was like that when we moved in. I will put a humidity meter in there and check thanks!

 

[JohnD]

Did you say you have a water meter?